I Don't Own Pokémon!
Let the Training Begin!
May's POV
"You're all registered and ready to go. The opening ceremony will be held tomorrow morning. Until then please enjoy your stay. Good luck to you." Nurse Joy said handing back my ribbon case.
With the registration out of the way, we decided it was time to grab some lunch. The guys gathered outside of the Pokemon Center while I put away the case in my pouch. They were all calling out different names of restaurants in the area when I stepped out to meet them.
"There are so many places to choose. Where do you guys want to eat?" Brock asked.
"I'm in the mood for noodles." Ash said first. It was like if he read my mind.
"Ooh me too." I said.
"Fine, let's go before I pass out." Max had been waiting since we first arrived to eat. It was funny seeing him impatient, but I couldn't enjoy his misery because the growling in my stomach had me feeling the exact same way. He started walking in the direction of the restaurant without saying a word. The rest of us followed him. All I wanted to do was hold my boyfriend's hand all the way there, but the stupid secret we had to keep was preventing any sort of contact. I must have been thinking to myself a lot longer than I thought. By the time I realized it, the guys were a good ten feet ahead of me.
"May, come on!" My little twerp brother yelled.
I looked up and Ash stopped in front of me with his arm out to me. He winked at me, with a big grin on his face. If you were to tell me Ash Ketchum was clueless about relationships a week ago, I would've believed you. But over the last couple of days he's beginning to come around. I grasped his hand firmly and let him pull me forward so we walked together. I don't know how he did it, but Ash always brought my spirits up.
The noodle restaurant was filled to the max with coordinators and travelers grabbing some lunch. If it weren't for Brock seeing over everybody, it would've been nearly impossible finding a table. The hostess took our order and as I was handing back the menu, I noticed a familiar figure approaching our table.
"Look what we have here." Drew stood in front of us holding a small bag in his hand.
"Drew? What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I'm just grabbing some lunch before I do some training." He replied.
Ash sat in front of me and by the look in his eye I could tell he was uncomfortable with his presence. I asked him if he liked Drew, and although he didn't actually say anything, I knew he didn't like him. I'll give him this, he definitely behaved himself whenever Drew came around.
"So Drew, what Pokemon are you going to use in the Grand Festival?" Ash asked.
Drew had been staring at me with those piercing green eyes of his, but momentarily looked away to answer Ash's question.
"Sorry, I don't give away my strategy to the competition." He finished by switching his gaze back to me and flicking his hair the same way he did all those time we met.
Ash scowled at him which made giggle, but at the same time I was mad because he was only being nice.
"May," I turned back to Drew to see what he had to say.
"You better not lose in the first round. I expect to meet you in the finals." He was trying to get in my head, but I was not having any of it.
"I'll see you there Drew." I replied confidently. I returned his smirk with one of my own before he shoved his free hand into his jacket and walked away.
"What a jerk." I heard Ash say quietly.
The waitress came back with our food a short while later. Ash was still visibly mad as we ate and it made me sad because I wanted assure him that he had nothing to worry about. He's the only one I care about, but this secret was eating me alive. My mindset began shifting to the Grand Festival. Different strategies, combinations, all crossed my mind as I ate. I didn't say anything else for the rest of the meal.
I let out Eevee and Munchlax from their Pokeballs. The appeal stage was not going to be a problem. I was already thinking ahead to the battle stage. Eevee and Munchlax haven't had much training together so we were going to train really hard to work out the kinks in our battling style.
"Are you ready, May?" Ash called out from the opposite end of our battlefield. Pikachu and Corphish were ready to battle. He never let the chance to help me slip away, but what made this different was that we were alone.
Nodding my head, I commanded my Pokemon to attack. "Eevee use Quick Attack. Munchlax use Focus Punch!" They charged towards the opponents who stood still.
"Pikachu use Agility, Corphish Harden!" Eevee's attack missed completely and Munchlax didn't do much damage thanks to Corphish's raised defense.
"You're gonna have to do better than that May!" He yelled. "Now Pikachu, use Iron Tail on Eevee. Corphish use bubblebeam on Munchlax!"
Ash was never one to go easy in a battle. He gave it everything he had and this was no exception.
"Eevee dig underground! Munchlax brace yourself!" Pikachu moved with such quickness that Eevee was almost hit. Bubblebeam hit Munchlax dead-on sending it sprawling back.
"Munchlax, are you okay?" I called out to it.
"Munch!" It replied positively.
To win I had to use combination attacks; and I thought of one really quick.
"Munchlax use Metronome!" It was a risky attack because one didn't know which attack would come out. Eevee was still underground and Pikachu was awaiting the attack. While Munchlax waved its fingers, I told Eevee what to do next.
"Eevee jump up and use Shadow Ball!" Out of nowhere, Eevee went behind Pikachu and hit it directly in the back. At the same time a green flash shot out of Munchlax's fingers right at Corphish.
"That's Dragonbreath!" I clapped and jumped happily.
"Cor-Corphish-Cor" The attack sent the tiny crab flying backwards.
"Corphish can you get up?" Ash asked his Pokemon. Corphish tried getting back up, but the attack did too much damage and it fainted.
"I think that's a good place to stop." He called back his Pokemon and kneeled down next to Pikachu. "You okay, buddy?" The little mouse Pokemon looked up at its trainer and let out a small cry.
I went to my Pokemon and hugged them tight. "You guys were great! We are going to win, I just know it." I returned them to their Pokeball and went to sit next to Ash.
"That was a lucky break getting Dragonbreath from Metronome, but you know it's not that dependable." He was great at giving advice and he was right about Metronome. It's all about chance with that move.
"I'll only use it as a last resort. I was worried about those two being in sync, but they proved me wrong." I told him.
"They work well together. You've done a great job of training them." He grabbed my hand and smiled his goofy smile at me. I couldn't help but reach up and give him a kiss.
"I learned from watching you." I said quietly. It was his turn to kiss me back.
Pikachu climbed onto my lap and curled into a ball, clearly tired from our battle. Sitting alone together was becoming routine for us. We talked about his time in the Battle Frontier and my upcoming contest. All we do is talk when we're alone but I think it brings us closer to one another. It's the feeling of closeness that made me think, if I lost, Ash would be by my side trying to cheer me up. I hope it never comes to that because I don't plan on losing.
Ash draped his arm and hugged me again, snapping me out of my little daydream.
"You two seem to be enjoying yourselves."
A/N: Hey all, I am going on vacation so the next chapter may take a little longer to post. I will be working on it as much as I can and hopefully have it ready when I get back. Please leave feedback and let me know what you think so far. Thank You and Happy Holidays!